Marine Le Pen on Crimea: "I absolutely do not believe there was an illegal annexation"

From Germany:Marine Le Pen: connection of Crimea to Russia "not illegal"The French Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen described the connection of the Crimean peninsula to the Russian Federation as "not illegal." This was explained by the chairman of the National Front (FN) in the interview with the Paris TV station BFM TV."I absolutely do not believe it was an illegal annexation. There was a referendum. The inhabitants of the Crimea wanted to join Russia," said Le Pen, who described the peninsula as an integral part of Russia: "I do not have the right to question the referendum."In the past, Le Pen expressed several positive opinions about Russian foreign policy in relation to the Crimean question. Thus, there would be a "chance, fairly clear and even credible" that France will recognize the Crimean Peninsula as a part of Russia under the leadership of Le Pen.Does Russia help the National Front?"Marine Le Pen goes on a begging tour," wrote the NZZ [Neue Zürcher Zeitung] today. The presidential candidate complained that no loans were forthcoming from French banks: "I am being opposed by the banks, which is a democratic problem." In 2014, the "National Front" received a loan of nine million euros from Russia.In the past, Le Pen has stated several times that the money injection from Moscow did not affect the independence of the party's political work. The loan "is interest-bearing and is going to be repaid, which is a normal financial transaction." According to a report from the satire magazine Le Canard Enchaîné, the "Front national" requested a loan of USD 30 million (EUR 28.95 million) from Russia in February 2016.The Republican US Congressman Mike Turner puts the loans in a context with the Russia-friendly statements of Le Pen: "In February 2016, the FN asked Russia for a loan of 30 million dollars to finance the 2017 presidential campaign of Marine Le Pen. In May, Le Pen declared in an interview that, in the event of their victory, they wanted to recognize the Crimean as part of the Russian territory. "

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From France:Marine Le Pen judges the connection of the Crimea legal, Kiev wants to declare her "persona non grata"Kiev immediately reacted to Marine Le Pen's statements on the Crimea. For saying she judged its connection with Russia legal, she risks an interdiction from the territory.On 3 January 2017, on the program of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, Marine Le Pen judged that "the inhabitants of the Crimea wanted to join Russia." "I do not believe at all that there was an illegal annexation," she said, "there was a referendum, I do not see any justification for challenging it."Kiev said: "By making statements that reprise the propaganda of the Kremlin, the French politician demonstrates that she does not respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." The government of Petro Poroshenko let it be known "such statements ... in violation of Ukrainian law, will necessarily have consequences ... as is the case with certain French politicians," referring to French deputies, such as Thierry Mariani, critics of sanctions against Russia -- Unlike François Hollande, who, following the footsteps of Angela Merkel, called in December 2016 for extending the measures against Russia beyond January 31, 2017. Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Donate!